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Intel's 'Personal Server': The Handheld Killer?
markbaard writes "Intel is developing a wireless, pocket-sized personal server that may replace laptops and PDAs altogether. The 'personal server,' which is being developed at Intel Research by ubiquitous computing wizard Roy Want, is the size of a deck of cards, half the weight of an iPaq, and has no i/o, no screen, and no peripherals. The device never leaves its user's pocket or handbag. Pictures of the personal server and the story are at baard.com."
It has no screen, how would you do anything with it?
Permalink here: http://www.baard.com/archives/2003_05.html#000071
It's tightly integrated, I carry it around with me all the time, I never lose it and it's never crashed yet. It doesn't cost a thing and it comes as standard.
It's called a "brain".
"Accept that some days you are the pigeon, and some days you are the statue." - David Brent, Wernham Hogg
Next step: Implantation.
1) Killer of the Handheld, or... 2) The Killer which IS handheld.
Hmmm...
They say the first thing to go is your penis. Well, it's either that or your brain. I forget which...
Ok that was bad, but how secure are these things? I mean I dont want anyone to be able to use a sniffer to find my MP3's and porn.....errr I mean my school work and documents :P
Join the TWIT army now!
You'v got a beowulf of servers in your pocket. :)
This already exists, more or less, in the form of the Toshiba HopBit. And I think that Toshiba's smarter than Intel in positioning their personal server as an accessory for PDA's rather than as a replacement for them. A box with no screen doesn't have very much sex appeal, and people like to be able to access information on the go, so people will probably buy these things mostly to serve as video storage for their Tungsten T's and iPaqs.
Can someone explain how a "wireless harddrive" that you need a computer to access will replace PDAs? I mean, you can't sit on the train and organize your day with it?
it is only after a long journey that you know the strength of the horse.
This is typical /. misreading of the article. It's designed as a server... something that provides background services to the user.
Now combined with various IO devices it may match the functionality of a handheld. Here is the ubicomp 2002 paper about it.
Intel is too late. People have been serving themselves with their hands in their pockets for AGES!
I see this more like addition, or update (if it's done right, if it's NOT done right I see it as paperweight), than replacement.
Sure, it would come handy to automatically have your portable computing device wirelessly "hijack" vastly superior input and output capabilities of bigger computer whenever you're in position to use one, but I'm not convinced web server is good enough for GUI of such device.
And it would be neat for it to still have screen and input device of its own (they would be turned off for power saving most of the time), for use where there just are no desktop systems for borrowing, in such situation, this system is 100% useless.
I already have a handheld killer, it's called a Glock.
But I'll believe it when I can buy it. And it works on linux out of the box.
Via the via the Distributed Mirror Project
Site slashdotted? Look here for mirrors, or even better: o
Intel is developing wireless, pocket-sized personal server that may replace laptops and PDAs altogether.
The personal server mounts on any PC that can recognize wireless devices: "Any computer becomes your computer," said Want.
Ok, I'm a little confused, are they saying that this will replace laptops and PDAs altogether or are they saying that this is merely a more flexible means of storage that can be accessed from other PCs or PDAs?
Join the TWIT army now!
Sounds like fun!!!!!
I fail to see how this replaces the functionality of my Zaurus. Sure, its a cool toy which has plenty of uses in its own right. But how am I going to be able to play kbill on the bus with this? I use my pda for far more than document storage. Its basically the next generation of those USB storage dongles isnt it?
since the link is horribly /.'d already, this has a lot of detailed info:
Intel persional server PDF
For those of you who didn't RTFA: This is essentially a little hard drive which rides around in your backpack (note: I don't carry a backpack all the time; do you?) and can connect, wirelessly, to any machine you access which recognizes wireless devices. Basically, as far as I can tell, this has the same net effect as having a home directory on an NFS server someplace and using it to save your settings as you move from machine to machine.
Again: Bo-ring.
When I saw "personal server, no IO", I was hoping this would be a manifestation of the keystone portion of my idea for a personal wireless network Your devices would all notice one another, and the width of functionality of any given device would be dependant on what you were carrying. If you we out taking pictures with your digicam and were carrying a server, the images would be transfered to the (presumably very expansive) drive in the server. If you had your cell phone, the images would be sent off to your home computer, as well.
Repeat en masse. PDAs display and do I/O, headphones play music and the real work is taken care of automagically behind the scenes in some secure fashion. You'd effectively allow the elimination of multi-use devices which don't do any job very well by allowing your devices to play their strong points, and you could customize your loadout just in what you grab in the morning when you're loading your pockets.
Anyhow, this ain't it, and that's disappointing -- somebody must have hit my verbosity flag today...
Every year during my review, I just pray the words "slashdot.org" aren't mentioned.
What's to stop someone from walking by with a laptop, and gaining access to all your data?
Even better, imagine if you could break into several of these things and then launch a series of DDoS attacks to nearby wireless devices and play hell with their communicationg >:)
:D ( Ack, I said too much :P )
Let the fun begin
Join the TWIT army now!
Build and INVENTED by Steve Mann at the University of Toronto.
It is a companion to the wearable computer. Built on a dimm pc and used a laptop hard drive to far surpass this things sotrage capacity, and used 802.11 PCMCIA card for wireless access.
Oh and it ran linux too so you aren't stuck with some crap that they dish out.
My brother just suggested that biometric authentication - probably fingerprinting - would be a useful feature on these devices. It might also be a good way to introduce biometric technology to the general public.
YOU FAIL IT!!!!!
Can anyone tell me how this is different from having a webserver at home and accessing it over the internet?
What kind of security features/ecryption would be implemented on this device? There have been enough flaws oncovered with WEP that this sounds like a bad idea to me. ANY computer with 802.11 access being able to connect to my portable hard drive? And how would I know since there isn't even a display?
It's called a laptop hard drive in a usb pack. Use one all the time and it is much more secure than this thing plus requires no extra hardware and software that this needs.
sheesh if you are too lazy to plug in your USB transportable pack (size of a 1/2 deck of cards) then you need to get a life.
Intel seems to have a good idea with this; however, I don't think it will cost effective to implement it. It will be like alternative fuel source cars - they will have to built a system to use it. Assuming they use WiFi to connect it to a computer so it "is your computer," that would mean that most computers could not connect to it without an purchase seems how a majority of the population don't even have their computers networked, much less wirelessly. Furthermore, it can't replace a PDA, atleast not yet, because you have to have a computer to use it; you can't use it while you are walking down the street. I think it would work great if they integrated some sort of display, even if it is crude, so you can use it like a PDA and still maintain the personal server aspect of it so it can be used to make any pc or laptop your own
I do like the idea of integrating it into a cell phone, since we always carry it. But yeah, this would be nice. Someone's mentioned the rumored BluePod, which would have bluetooth access. So, on a train, you could listen to other people's tunes, see what other people have.
But what I really see the potential for is a repository. I posted about this before, just can't find it offhand. You have a digital camera. It needs storage. So you have to keep track of that. MP3s in an MP3 player, have to keep track of that. Why not provide a central repository on your person? I get home, it syncs. If I added new data on my Palm, it's there and gets sync'd. I took new photos, they're there, sync them. Etc, etc.
"Sometimes a woman is a kind of religion, she can save your soul & set you free from all your sins" - Bad Examples
Has ubiquitous taken over wi-fi or xml for the hottest buzzword?
Can I put this word on my resume to abet my fortuity procuring a profitable position at a forune 500 company?
In the old days I would use an IDE drive in a caddy if I wanted to move my computing life around with me.
Now I might use a USB drive etc.
Saying this will replace the handheld PDA is stupid.There are very often not desktop PCs etc where you want to use the thing.
Engineering is the art of compromise.
I've always dreamt about having a box like this with WiFi or Bluetooth connecting several devices in a modular design for I/O... would be sweet to have it work as a music server, portable player, wearable PC, or even home automation. This modular and flexible design would complement a GNU/Linux system optimized for these tasks.
The real question that comes to mind is why is this better than ssh'ing to my home box and pulling up stuff using realVNC?
My home box has a heck of a lot more processing power and storage space than this thing.
I always thought that the only advantage a PDA had over this approach was that you could access it without having to use another big machine...
Mod me down and I will become more powerful than you can possibly imagine!
"Half the weight of an ipod, and it has no i/o" cool! Does it run on Write Only Memory too? :)
That is the funniest thing I have read here in 3 days. Good Job!
Why would this replace PDAs and laptops? You can't use it unless you've already got a second I/O capable computer nearby, like a laptop or PDA. And if you've got access to a second I/O capable computer, why not just connect to a cheaper, faster, non-portable server back at the office? I really don't see the advantage of having the server in your pocket. If I'm using a computer (desktop, laptop, or PDA), I really couldn't give a damn whether the server I'm accessing is in my pocket or a colo facility. As long as I can access it, it makes no difference.
It might as well sit in your bag and be a little bit larger with a keyboard and a monitor
- Just because you can't, doesn't mean you shouldn't
Perhaps the editor's did take a little licence when they decribe this as a handheld killer. This particular device? Probably not.
This particular paradigm? Hey maybe.
PDAs and laptops suffer from the "kitchen sink" problem. In order to please a sufficently large number of people, all sorts of features have to be included, and in turn, compromises made. Some people want color, others want audio, some keyboards some need a touch pen. In order to compete buttons are placed in random places on pdas so they can work like a dictaphone. All sorts of weird things that I don't want just to please some niche.
And adding all those features raises the cost of the device.
This idea of modularizing components wirelessly might be a really great idea. With this paradigm, I don't have to fit the CPU and hardrive into an ergonomic shape suitable for pen input. Also, your hand is relieved of the extra weight of those components.
So just like desktops, you might buy your "monitor" from a totally different manufacturer than the cpu. You like Sony's egonomics but compaq's performance? Why can't you have both?
Also, with this model, you don't need all the extra proprietary gobblygook to interface to your desktop.
Sounds like a good deal to me.
In what way exactly is wireless communication not I/O?
I read "no i/o" and thought, well, bricks don't have i/o either... so what?
Mirror
sounds like an ipod with bluetooth to me.
Imagine, a 30 gig ipod with bluetooth. Not only can you share playlists and stream music via roundevous, but you can also have a light webserver running on it too. sounds cool to me! ")
No I/O?
:-)
Sounds like a lump of wood to me.
Wireless is I/O.
Is that a personal server in your pocket, or are you just happy to see me?
Now if you had a PDA that could talk to this thing via bluetooth, we're almost there.
You then remove all external IO from laptops and PDA's, except for the blue tooth to talk to the server. The server then handles all communication with outside networks, such as the Internet. Then you turn your cell phone into a client device as well. You bassically turn yourself into a walking wireless network, with the personal server acting as your router.
Now, battery size becomes a non-issue for the interface devices (cell phone, PDA), and less of an issue for the server device because it's easier to carry a big battery on your belt than next to your ear. The bulky stuff moves to your hip or bag, and everything else gets smaller. Oops, now look, I've added bluetooth to my wrist watch and it plays MP3's (stored on the server). Any bluetooth device within 10 feet or so of you is now automatically connected to the internet (if you allow access, of course).
Next step: more wireless protocols on the server. When you come in range of a willing 802.11 network, you can piggy-back on that for Internet access and save battery life. If your buddy has a wireless server device in his car, you can piggy back on that, and charge your battery as well. You will always have Internet access available, your battery consumption will just vary as you move from access point to access point.
Sure, you can access the thing with a desktop computer too, thus giving your PDA a real interface. But that's just the beginning.
A watch with no display.
:)
A walkman with no headphones.
A laptop with no keyboard or screen.
A mobile phone with no screen, mic or earpiece.
They're really going to corner the minialist arty gadget market
Not the best, but a decent mirror can be found here
Sigs are for hypocrits
Basically it's a hard drive and a processor in your pocket. It connects wirelessly to "normal" computers. So I can carry my mp3s, my videos, my schedule, and all that crap around with me in a little box. But if I want to get at it I have to connect to the little box from a "real" computer.
You know what's better than that? Just set up a "real" computer at home. Then use VNC, ssh, a web server, sftp, or any of that type of stuff. Then, wa-la you have the same exact thing. Only now, you don't have to carry anything around with you. It just sits on your desk at home, where it always is.
The problem isn't that you can't get to your stuff when you're out of the house. The problem is that you can't get to a computer. What I'd like to see is a super super thin super small laptop. Screen, keyboard, small processor, bit of ram, sound output of some kind, pointing device and network connectivity through wire or not. The device would pretty much be a vnc box. Turn it in, connect securely to your machine at home. Use your computer from anywhere on earth.
There's a problem with this. If you are on a plane, suck. But vnc uses mad bandwith. So if you don't have broadband it should have a command line only mode, or at least a low bandwith mode, like lbx or something. So that you can make it work by plugging it into the bottom of your cell phone and raising the little antenna.
We don't need the services. Those can be anywhere. The problem is lack of io. Give me just the io devices and a means to connect, and I'll have just one computer. I'm asking for something like viewsonic's wireless monitor, only 10 times better.
The GeekNights podcast is going strong. Listen!
How long will it be till Wi-Fi is built into every motherboard? Not very long, I expect.
Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from a rigged demo
--Andy Finkel (J. Klass?)
While it is not completely new or different, the fact that it is just a simple, yet robust way of doing something that has many options for use makes it a good idea.
I do security
> the size of a deck of cards, half the weight of an iPaq, and has no i/o, no screen, and no peripherals. The device never leaves its user's pocket or handbag
:)
Dumb like a rock and hard like a brick... Windows CE/ME/NT
- Arwen, I'm your father, Agent Smith.
- Well, you're just Smith, but my father is Aerosmith!
How about those nifty "communicators" were they anything like cell phones?.... hmm... he never put them together!
Star Trek Eat your heart out... a Communicator/Tricorder in one.
A 400MHz XScale is just fine for this kind of thing. But while Bluetooth is good for some applications, it isn't fast enough for many others; it's like an 0.5X CD-ROM speed, though it's certainly good enough to drive the headphone audio. 802.11 could be fine (though it tends to be a power hog, suggesting the need for an on-off switch...), though it's tempting to recommend a simple ethernet jack on the side instead, which has the advantage of working in places where people are correctly paranoid about which side of the firewall the wireless network belongs on. I tend to favor having an "ok to connect new object" button anyway, for security reasons...
UPnP is one of them evil Microsoft things :-) Is it the right one? What about security - how do you implement that correctly for this kind of device?
Bill Stewart
New Fast-Compression-only CPR http://preview.tinyurl.com/dy575ks
Her name is Teresa Nakra.
2 02 ,00.html
http://www.wired.com/news/images/0,2334,58679-7
Another interview of Roy Want about the personal server can be found on Intel's website here
"Your Majesty! this is the most advanced PDA ever envisioned! it can do everything! and it needs no no I/O, no batteries and it can hold all your data without ever needing to change batteries!"
"Looks like a block of wood to me." said the grand Vizer
"Well you see your majesty" continued the Intel Rep "only the most intelligent people can see the data it contains, because beams the data straight to their minds"
"Well of course I knew that" the empereor quickly replied "I was just schedualing my apointments and playing solitare just now, what a wonderful device, and I love the wooden finish"
On Wall Street they say "buy low, sell high" On the pad we say, "buy high, sell high" Isn't that somehow better?
This sounds like a fairly good idea to me, but isn't it basically just a portable HD with a battery that uses wireless connectivity...?
Porta-server sounds really impressive, but basically, it sounds like a FireWire drive that's slower, but has the advantage of not requiring a big, clunky wire to use it. Lack of a big, clunky wire will probably jack up the price to some unreasonable level, though... in which case, why buy a wireless HD when I can just use my iPod...? There's also that additional issue with privacy -- if you no longer need a connection to a drive to read it, how do you hide it from your foes?
And how does this lead to the downfall of the laptop/PDA? Having no display or input seems like a hinderance to accessing the information when you're on the go.
-agent oranje.
Slashdot that thing hard enough and it may well vibrate.
The coolest voice ever.
Biometric authentication has so many false negatives that it's practically useless.
This has been a dream of people for many years, and people have already been persuing it. Check out:
http://www.oqo.com/
for more information.
Personally, I think that computing has moved (rightfully so) more towards a use-centric model, rather than a technology-centric model. We have more computing power at our personal disposal than we ever need. (Re: iPAQ's amd Palms) Howerver, in order for all that computing power to be useful , it needs to be surrounded by a good metaphor, and needs to be centered around people's information, lifestyle, wants & needs, and activities.
I feel that this explains Apple's recent resurgence in popularity, and the good direction that Jobs has the company going in, as well as the successful Sony Clie brand, and the newer camphones.
Technology may sell, but usefulness sells more.
Cheers,
Ken
Despite that this probably adds nothing to the topic, the parent to this is the best thing I've read in quite some time. Definitely a great point as to how people on Slashdot will follow a group mentality, even if that wasn't what you meant to point out. Still laughing...
SIG: HUP
that stores your soul. Or, that's what you think when you sign the goatskin. Little do you suspect that your soul is packetized and shipped to Redmond, where BeelzeBill holds court.
Intel product, you say?
Andy Grove had the prototype...
Mwahahahahahahahahahaha
-4 Troll; Offtopic; Flamebait; Stupid
Where it spends it's time spewing EM waves into the user's crotch :)
This Space Intentionally Left Blank
Looks like a pen. Writes like a pen.
But it's not a pen. It contains 256 MB (or so) of flash, which is shared via bluetooth. A 10cm high gain antenna is hidden within the length of the pen itself, and powered by a single AAA battery. Walk by an enabled PC, optionally type in a password, and all your documents, your keyring, etc. are available.
Finally, as an added bonus, when you write on paper (or anything for that matter), you can choose to record your scribbles on the flash drive. Tiny gyroscopic sensors determine the motion of the pen across the page, and a pressure sensor determines whether the pen is against a writing surface. Each time you expose the ball point head it creates a new file, and when you retract it, it closes it. You can tell which file is which by the timestamps.
THAT would kick ass. And as embedded logic gets more powerful, you could have a personal web/email/jabber server running in there too.
A wireless iPod sounds nifty, but where's the innovation people?
Fuck Beta. Fuck Dice
I have always deamt of a device that I would be able to carry around without having to take it out of my pocket (acutally, I wanted it to be strapped to by chest permanently :-)).
My concerns were this. If I forgot my PDA or handheld computer where I was using it, and came back to find it missing, I might lose irreplacable data. Of course, the device can be replace after you make enough moolah.
So I wanted to keep the I/O unit and the real unit separate. This will reduce the chance of you losing the most important stuff. [Of course, it will not completely eliminate the problem.]
Seems it will soon be ture, of course if can afford it :-).
Thank you.
GrimReality
2003-05-04 23:44:10 UTC (2003-05-04 19:44:10 EDT)
"The first technology--a prototype developed by IBM Research--is the Meta Pad, a 3-by-5-inch, 9-ounce device that an IBM official hailed as the "ultimate personal server." The Meta Pad contains an 800-MHz chip, a 10GB hard drive, a 3D graphics chip, and 128MB of memory; it is capable of running Windows XP.
The device, which supports Bluetooth, is designed to help give users access to all their data whether they are connected to their desktops or laptops, via a docking station or wirelessly over the Internet. "
We have been alerted of the nonphrase Wa-la used in your posting. Here at the institute for reeducating retards, we feel the need to point out that the word is voila. Learn some french yankee, it is the basis of your language.
Hmm, except it doesn't play MP3s. Or Breakout. Or Solitaire. Or let you view notes. Or your contacts. Or your calendar. Or recharge while it's tranfserring data.
So... did I miss anything in it's functionality other than the differences I already listed?
GPL Deconstructed
The device never leaves its user's pocket or handbag.
2003 - That bastard stole my grandmothers handbag! 2005 - That bastard hacked my grandmothers handbag and DDOS'ed my pockets!
Never? Machine wash cold. Tumble dry low.
so, at what point does Sar schedule include likely effects of spermatoza production?
(Sar being the scale of brain cancer (supposed) causing rf output from the phone)
every day http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:Random
"Intel is too late. People have been serving themselves with their hands in their pockets for AGES!"
The bad, for some is that they come up emptyhanded.
Except you set it up once and can use it anywhere.
ANYWHERE.
Desktop, mobile, PDA, Cell phone, you name it. You're customized and ready to go, your OS and programs follow you ( The simpler ones run on the Xscale processor, the wireless link is just for shared data and I0 / screen updates, the more complex platforms get streamed boot data then program data, like your desktop )
We've been bitching at Intel for years for not making things portable enough, instead concentrating on bigger, hotter power hungry desktop chips.
Now Intel looks to be making a move to make everyone's standard data server run on a capable but not overkill Xscale.
Sure, there are some specialized things it can't process. Want to play a game? Mosey over to the desktop, your Xscale will stream the game files over in a few seconds, and while you play, fully configured with your key. Want to crunch a new movie into Divx or your favorite video codec? Your desktop will encode it and download it to the server in real time. Your desktop probably won't even have a hard disk, everything including the OS should be streamed from your handheld server.
* The key point here is this can be used as a seamless virtual session device ( ala Citrix ) plus fileserver plus desktop companion. Remote GUI sessions have always had problems catching on because the software is expensive and they require solid bandwidth. This has neither problem, and does more, so it's not dedicated hardware you're plunking down for. The battery life could be better, true, but for first generation >4 hours is impressive.
Man is the animal that laughs.
And occasionally whores for Karma.
http://www.connectivite.com/
Noble intentions, but could someone please explain how a device with no integral I/O exists stand-alone? Gotta be a mis-comm, a journalistic embellishment.
Imagine a beowulf-cluster of these!!
Think of the webpad my microsoft thats supposed to kill laptops....
Now think about it. People need a computer they can carry and use. It better have a monitor, drives, keyboard.. and you got a laptop. Can a PDA replace it? No too small a screen and keyboard. Increase the screen and keyboard size and youve got a picturebook. Similar to a laptop but that harddisk needs an upgrade..
So a webpad is something more expensive. People dont need it. Some might buy it. Just like the some who buy PDAs and use it for maybe 2 minutes each day for nothing really important, except maybe games, for which the laptops still the best tool.
So we will continue to see things that their makers will claim will kill the laptop and picturebook and pda and webpad and intel thingy.
"Give orange me give eat orange me eat orange give me eat orange give me you." -Nim Chimpsky
I have a desk at home and at work with a comptuer at each one. If I use a laptop, it'd be away from my desk. For those times I dont' want to be behind my desk or just be somewhere else.
Now puzzle me this. Cowboys. If it has no screen, and I'm on my couch, or in a meeting with no screen/keyboard... how do I use the thing?
This thing feels more like a firewire, portable HD, without the wire and it serves itself up. Neat trick, has a nich, but not the same as a laptop or PDA.
--
"I'm not bright. Big words confuse me. But Wanda loves me and that should be enough for you." - Cosmo
Now when you get asked that age old question "is a in your pocket or are you just happy to see me?" you can reply "neither it is my personal mp3 streaming sever!!!"
how is that for classey
It said "windows 98 or better" so I installed Linux
For the uninformed, "io" is short for "input/output". It's what computers do: they take input, and they supply output. It's why they're useful. A computer with no i/o is about as useful as this C program:
main() {
}
(You can compile this program on most UNIX systems by typing: gcc -o main main.c)
To have no i/o, you can't have a screen, a keyboard, a mouse, sound, external drives, a network interface, or anything - not even a serial port. In all fairness, a deck of cards are more useful and are also likely to have a lower power consumption.
This is an extremely good idea, but it needs to leverage device integration.
The "personal server" would, essentially, allow you to take all of your personal data with you wherever you went... no matter what computer you sat down in front of, you would have access to your files and even the applications needed to access and edit them. Imagine an iPod with 802.11 and Appleshare (or NFS or Samba).
The downside is that away from a computer, you would have no way to access or modify those files. So you'd need a PDA and a personal server, anyway.
The logical extension is to combine the personal server with a PDA. Hell, might as well build the whole damn thing into a cell phone... an iPod sized cellphone with 5 gigs of data for MP3s, client databases, config files, what have you.
Add bluetooth to this thing, and you wouldn't even need a PC, just a screen and keyboard that will talk to the personal server/pda/phone. Instant desktop, without taking the computer from your geeky belt clip. Perfect for businesses, but not so hot for home gaming... hence the server. Wander over to a real PC, and you're still in business, with the same set of user information.
Base the thing around open standards, and you should be able to wander from a Mac to a PC to a Sun workstation and back again, with the same set of files...
It's a really neat idea.
SoupIsGood Food
So, let me see if I get this straight. This little gadget is going to interact with whatever computer happens to be around it, providing that computer is set up for this. Well, what exactly will that "set up" entail?
I see this little device as necessarily incorporating Palladium (or whatever the hell they're calling it these days). How else can these computers play with strangers?
When Microsoft, Intel, et al, roll out their trusted computing initiative, they're going to have to get us all to buy into it. The main inroad is going to be nifty, little gadgets like these. People will just "have to have them," and they will not come without various "security" measures built in.
quiquid id est, timeo puellas et oscula dantes.
Buy Steampunk Clothing Online!
That's very interesting.
I don't want a personal server.... I want Teresa.
You have to see the irony in the geek tendancy to use 'sex appeal' to describe asthetic value in a gadget. They'll never get laid, so they fantasize about fucking their keyboard.
The whole point of a PDA or laptop is to use it when you don't have access to a computer. Yet, this so-called PDA/laptop killer will somehow replace PDAs/laptops without being usable where PDAs/laptops are? I don't follow Intel's logic.
How will this personal-server allow people to use a computer in a car, an airplane, a meeting, a bus, a waiting room, a restaurant, or anywhere else that one uses a PDA/laptop? Obviously whoever made those statements wasn't thinking very hard.
..trawling the net for some information on this from another source, I came across this, which some html written by one of the researchers involved in the project, it seems.
:)
Admittedly, it isn't much, but it has a bigger picture.
http://www.stanford.edu/~mckinney/intel.html
I am a viral sig. Please copy me and help me spread. Thank you
I couldn't eyeball any references, so I'll take the low hanging fruit. Fill a briefcase or two full of these things and you could have your own portable Beowulf cluster!
Portable grid computing. Yow.
-- Dossy
Dossy's Blog
"Half the size, actually. The rest is all glitter and gee-gaw designed to make a gullible public more likely to pay five dollars to see it."
I don't think there would be a need for a seperate "personal server". The device would respond to requests from files, and any server-like features are just response to complex requests. You could organize it around a whole XML-RPC framework with specific types of requests all of which are heavily geared towards processing on the client side at presentation time. You provide the data in a standardized format (or use some fancy XML markup) and keep it in there.
Also, I don't think that using microdrives is a good idea because solid state is better suited for battery operation. Plus you don't need expensive drive electronics to deal with user handling. You can translate those savings into larger storage capacities.
If you were worried about making huge volumes of data available, I would be carrying around a USB-enabled notebook drive, not a repurposed iPod.
Fuck Beta. Fuck Dice
Even at that size, It's annoying to add yet something else to my pockets. Three of my four pockets are currently consumed by a cell phone, wallet, and keys. This needs a better place to go. It's annoying to have technology in my pocket, especially if it is in any way fragile. Furthermore, does this thing generate any heat (which would make pocket use more uncomfortable).
Granted, most women have a bag of some sort with them, but men tend to go without. I'm not for any kind of subcataneous form factor, but I'd tolerate an anklet or something (don't ask me how to get hard drives into an anklet, just a thought). Even better, put it in my watch--I'm more likely to have that than my cell, and it's fairly well accepted to wear one.
Form factor must be considered. A Hard drive for your pocket isn't sexy, a normal enough looking watch that holds 80gigs whenever you're in 802.11/bluetooth range is--noone has to know.
Brian
Leave it up to the Wintel world to be following in Apple's footsteps once AGAIN.
I read about this on /. a few years ago and I've thought about it ever since. Imagine this, you have a collection of electronic devices (digital watch, a cell phone, a digital camera, gps etc) Each of these has certain services that the other devices could use if they had a simple network (bluetooth) and a simple language to talk with.
You take a photo of something and your camera gets the date/time from your watch and your location from your GPS. Your camera's batteries are low so it uses your cell phone to notify you. You want to change the channel on the TV but can't find the remote so you grab your cell phone.
There is a lot of redunancy in your devices (keypads, displays, speakers, etc) that could removed if you devices talked to each other. Also, there are lots of "dumb" devices that could be made smarter by using your other devices. Your smoke detector could send your phone a message when it's batteries are low.
I see this personal server as the first step towards this. You have a device with a lot of storage and processing capability but no interface. Then you buy other devices, like a digital camera or MP3 player , that have an interface but had limited storage.
The best part is that every device you buy adds value to your network of devices and the devices should be cheaper because you can eliminate lots of redundant parts.
... but I would call bluetooth and wifi I/O.
A computer without I/O == useless.
-- iCEBaLM
The Ghost!
Visiting The Ghost
How to Download YouTube Videos
That's not a crash or downtime, it's "scheduled maintenance" that you weren't informed about.
You can't judge a book by the way it wears its hair.
file under useless.....
-Cnik
They're all missing the boat.
What we need are:
- Simple devices (a camera that just takes pictures, a MP3 player that just plays MP3's, a GPS that just spits out GPS data, a scanner that just scans, a printer that just prints)
- Cross-device scripting language, like "Javascript for Devices" or like Sun's old Java Bean Studio or even "Lego Mindstorms for Devices" or something like that
- Wireless, of course (short range)
- A PIN # to match all of my devices
- Rendezvous so that they all auto-recognize each other
This way, I could program my camera to talk to my GPS so that I know where that picture was taken, program my camera to talk to my cell phone so that when I double-click the shutter, email that picture to Mom. Program my printer to talk to my camera to print out pictures, program my car to email me when my odometer reaches time to change the oil, etc. etc.
When I go on vacation, I just strap my GPS and my portable hard drive to my belt and bring my camera, no more wondering where that picture was taken, no more worrying about storage.
Simple Devices and Cross-Device language.
Eliminate the PC and complexity of it. Why do I need to fire up my PC to print & save my pictures?
This company almost gets it. As does Intel, by the article.
DNET. You heard it here first.
Welcome to the next revolution.
williesleg@hotmail.com
I've worked out most of the details, don't have any prototypes yet, though. Soon.
oh where I pree thee is the mandatory Beowulf cluster post? ... cmon guys, this is Slashdot.. repeat slowly after me: "this is Slashdot where an article such as this shall have an 'imagine a Beowulf' ... post"
Articles like these are fun. Geeks like me are supposed to be the ones finding cool uses for new technology, yet everybody describes in detail how they can live without it simply by jumping through a few extra hoops. I wish I was around when 2x CD-ROMS were announced. "All they did was spin the platter twice as fast, I can do the exact same thing by waiting twice as long for my data!"
They're our future everyone!
"Derp de derp."
..but the world needs pedants..
If this thing had no i/o, as the article claims, it'd be a high tech brick.
Despite the fact that it has no screen, speakers, keyboard, sockets, etc, it DOES have i/o - the wireless connection.
Just being picky.
Curiosity was framed. Ignorance killed the cat.
OK, it's actually just a deck of cards. Consider it a prototype.
That thing is really wicked. It's halfway there (I like how it charges in the cradle... probably a better idea than alkaline batteries). If you could figure out how to lose the pad, and make it wireless... then a firmware update... boom!
If it's too hard to make it truly freehand, it might be acceptable to use a set of magic buttons, "fairy clips", I don't know what you'd call it, maybe it looks like a ruler, but the purpose is to establish an origin, a baseline on the "paper" with which to compare it's position using sonar, RF, whatever. You would like to think that you could do a semi-decent job using dead-reckoning, and maybe a little user guided post-processing to get your scribbles untangled. But maybe that's asking a little much.
It's a shame to have to carry around the pad.
Fuck Beta. Fuck Dice
If I were using this to replace my laptop I'd want to connect to it through terminals at my clients' sites as well as public terminals. That's basically why I carry around my laptop now, the PCs on sites where I work never have all the tools and data that I need. It's a great idea, after all I don't need to carry my own monitor and keyboard around and frankly I'm sick of digging around under random desks looking for a free drop.
But the problem here is, do you trust every place that you plug your laptop in currently? Right now you don't have to since the act of plugging in doesn't give anyone access to your data. But I could imagine a situation where an unscrupulous customer or public terminal stole data from this personal server. All they'd need to do is see how you authenticate to it (say, use a keysniffer) and then they're free to grab your data whenever you're in range. I think a simple solution would be to have a button on the device that you would have to press in order to authorize access to it - the password is not enough. It's not foolproof, but it's better than just a password. Until there is some additional security you really wouldn't want to use these things at an untrusted location.
I have recently been thinking about something like this - after trying out Knoppix, I realised that what I need is some easily portable data storage (with more storage space than a USB stick), so that I can carry my complete computing environment with me. Just need to whack a CD into any bluetooth/802.11b enabled computer, automount the drive and away I go.
I agree with some of the posters in this thread that this might eventually reduce the clunky hardware bits (keyboards and screens, mainly) to commodities that just sit on desks and are shared by whoever needs to access their data at the moment.
I asked for a refund - and got my monkey back.
Wow. This sounds awesome. You could run all of your applications on this personal server so that the device with your user interface can be really lightweight... I mean, do we really need a huge hard-drive in every terminal? It just makes sense. You could even let others use your server to run their applications. I can see it now. You'd probably want to run Java on it, and then you could upgrade the low-speed wireless link so that you could connect multiple of these servers together via high-speed wired links. It's almost like the network IS the computer.
Why didn't someone think of this before?
- Flip phone design similar to Kyocera's 7135 smartphone
- Total of 3 LCD screens:
- Color LCD screen (inside) for main display, on the top half
- Monochrome LCD that covers only an area big enough for handwriting recognition or virtual keyboard or status messages for games/integrated debuggers/whatever
- Monochrome LCD screen along the top when closed, used for caller ID and alerts
- MP3 capability
- Some sort of wireless connection
- Integrated web server for entering data when there's a computer around, and a Java interface similar to VNCs for creating a virtual screen so that other programs can be used on other computers
- Capability to communicate with USB or serial for those who want it
- GPS-based alerts - these come two ways, "remind me to pick up my prescription when I'm near my drugstore" and "remind me about the meeting in time for me to get there"
- Massive amounts of storage for a PDA (for this type of device, I'd say 10 GB is "massive" enough)
- Two versions: one with an optical mouse on one side and buttons on the other and a built in thumb operated keyboard that uses a pointer to "tap" on things for those who don't like the stylus or can't/won't learn to deal with handwriting recognition, and one with a 4-way jog dial for scrolling through documents.
- Expandability - I feel that the CompactFlash+ format would be best (most room for additional electronics), but I haven't really looked deeply into it.
Of course, there are going to be some things I missed - feel free to point them out.--Ender
Loose things are easy to lose. You're getting your hair cut. They're going there to see their aunt.
It uses Write Only Memory!
Makes for a whole bunch of interesting possibilites...
How long before someone develops a piece of software that lets you swap files with other such devices in the area automatically, maybe even search for specific files on other's shares?
Turn up to a lecture and just by being there you get a copy of the audio and notes streamed to your personal server.
Add an access mechanism to a television/home entertainment system. Boom, instant portable TIVO!
...something like the useful tool in the early scenes of Niven's The Gripping Hand. Quoting from memory:
That's a personal server. Until I can do that, don't pester me.
You cannot apply a technological solution to a sociological problem. (Edwards' Law)
As I listed in a previous post, what I want is a personal network. I want everything to work (via BlueTooth, 802.11x, whatever) so that everything on me works together.
A storage device that holds songs for my MP3 player, data for my Palm device, and stores photos taken with my digital camera.
The ability then to display pictures from my digital camera onto my Palm device.
Being able to not only sync my cell phone and Palm device, but have them actually use the same information saved on the storage device (or on each other if I am not carrying around the storage device at the moment)
I cannot imagine this is that hard to do. I would like to see speeds faster than BlueTooth for a lot of these things, though. What would the advantage of having my Palm device talk to a 3G cell phone vie BlueTooth? You would lose a good amount of speed right there.
The other big thing would be the ability to not have the central server/storage and still have all of the devices speak to each other.
- (c) 2018 Hank Zimmerman
Unfortunately the site is gone now (I sold the site in 2000 and it got virtually no attention afterwards), but I wrote about technology like this back in 1999.
I hope they really come out with this technology for a reasonable price, and with a good modular design.
This type of device could be the central component of the mobile communications platform I was describing in a couple of articles.
Add a module for a wireless phone -- beauty here is that module could be CDMA, TDMA, GSM, pick the technology. Add another module for a pager if you need it. Yet another could be used for wireless data/internet.
Next, add your accessories -- color watch display, wireless headset for phone, handset for phone, wireless headphones, handheld (PDA style) display, digital camera (including video), small microphone for dictation (like some MP3 players have), keyboard, external extended battery pack (keeps internal battery charged, main power drawn from external pack until pack is drained), etc.
This "platform" could be marketed by just about everyone, from computer stores ala Fry's and CompUSA to electronic stores (Radio Shack) to wireless carriers.
Here's they key -- multitasking. This device would have to allow the use of the "phone" at the same time as the other modules such as camera (either still or video), PDA/watch, etc.
My wireless background obviously slants my opinion towards wireless phones etc, but I find it interesting how close things are getting to some of the ideas I've worked on or written about over the last 10 years. The potential for this is huge, if they deliver this right.
. 62,400 repetitions make one truth -- Brave New World, Aldous Huxley
What's wrong with this picture? Why do I need to carry around this box? Why do I want to carry around data? That's what the Internet is for.
Remember Java-enabled jewelry with onboard crypto? The RSA "fob" ID device? Dallas Semiconductor buttons? Same functional capabilities, less to carry. All you really need is an ID device.
Ubiquitous computing looks more like "hurry up and find something that wastes compute power before we have to have another layoff". They need some better ideas over there.
Yes, but a more industrial minimalist booth. The kind you would put in subway stations (with a hope of survival) rather than shopping mauls. Also, your PDA would control the vertical -- bring your environment with you. (Ooh, just had an SF "The Long Run" moment: "Goddamn slow hardware boss!")
One line blog. I hear that they're called Twitters now.
...Which has almost zero security issues, or power issues, will link up with damn near anything, and is a good $100-200 cheaper at the same storage size.
Or, for about 25 cents, burn a CD.
Jon Acheson.
All opinions expressed herein are my own, and not those of my employers, who are appalled.
A little button turns off click sense. And if you forget, a tiny LED would blink when its recording, like a camcorder.
... blinking .....colors.... no interface.... blinky-lights
In fact, lots of LEDs would be great. Blinking! The lights.
THIS THING CAN TURN ON A DIME, MACROSSZERO STYLE ALSO FUCK BETA, ~NYORON
If you use intellegent protocols, i.e. built on ZeroConf or Rendezvous, you don't need to build in so much intelegence into the device. Say, have the drive use wireless Firewire to display itself as a device for a computer to access. Then you don't need the server part and likewise you have less of a need for pricey Intel hardware.
AR = Augmented Reality (Anyone remember an article on that? If not, google it up, it's interesting.) If it has the capability to run as a server, what's to say someone can't rewrite the OS/firmware to actually facilitate AR. With the bluetooth capabilities, most or all of the instruments needed for AR (GPS, video screen goggles, everything else would be integrated into the pocket server: wireless connection, information proccessing capability, HUD generating software) If people can make a linux-based OS that fits on a single CD and runs off that CD without having to be installed, AR is not far down the road with this device. Then again, who would need a HUD for everyday activities?
Now watch this drive.
So, it's a wireless hard drive. What fucking good is that? I want to use my PDA where there are no computers. If I can access a fucking computer then I'll use it instead. Hell, I can get USB Flash drives fairly cheap. The only difference is that I have to plug it in. Big deal.
This sounds like the story "Stone Soup". Remember that? It sounds like this is a PDA, and all you need is a whole computer to access it.
Anyone recognize what kinda code that site is running? -- I mean is it a php driven open source software that he just theme'd? I really like the look of it.
I am Jack's HTTP Server
... it just becomes the same as carrying around a laptop bag.
(mod this because it's funny - it's funny cuz it's true)
Now I'm going to need a utility belt with alot of pouches... one for my MP3player, one for my handheld, one for the fold-up keyboard, and one for my extra storage. At least I can set a laptop bag down when I try to take a piss.
Remembering that you are going to die is the best way I know to avoid the trap of thinking you have something to lose.
I presume that wireless via radio is power hungry because it's inefficient and that it's inefficient because the energy gets shared out over a sphere.
So my question is...why doesn't someone implement "tightbeam" radio links where the endpoints are able to adjust to changes in position?
stay frosty and alert
And devices for this kind of usage are already appearing: Sony, Toshiba, and a few other companies have developed personal wireless file servers. Internet connectivity comes via a Bluetooth phone. Wireless head sets and keyboards give you sound and data entry. And a wirelessly networked PDA gives you a screen.
However, it makes sense to include a small screen on any wireless server you carry around, like Oqo, Antelope, and Tiqit are doing. Also, it makes sense to keep certain functions separate, like the cell phone, file server, and screen.
why does the article (and the link) claim that the machine has no i/o? when i first saw that i thought to myself "now what use is a computer with no i/o? that's about as useful as a brick -- literally". the thing clearly has wireless i/o. a computer with no input or output functionality is completely useless.
pfft. no i/o. really.
- Carrying data around (a few MB's: USB-Sticks or CF/SD/MMC-Cards; large amounts: iPods and similar devices)
- navigation, communication/telephony, PDA, mobile gaming, mp3, digital photography (a large variety of separate or integrated devices exist)
So what is there left to do, apart from the obvious miniaturization/integration, better UIs etc.?- protection of your data (encryption and safety/backups for all your personal information/data); ideally, the data on your PDA etc. would be synchronized transparently and continuously with some safe storage area, over the 'net, so that it wouldn't hurt you much if you lost your PDA.
- authentication, secure access to your information (a password and a proper design of your gadgets should suffice, perhaps complemented by a fingerprint reader)
I don't think that another integrated device that offers 50% of the desired functionality is particularly innovative. I'd rather see more efforts to combine existing solutions in order to solve the remaining issues listed above in a useful manner (bluetooth is a good step in this direction, because it takes care of interoperability). So, if you want to be innovative, build me a persistent network storage that can be used by my GSM phone, my mp3 player, my PDA and perhaps my digicam to store all my data in a safe and secure manner without manual intervention (whenever it is modified, through an available network link or otherwise GSM)."I love my job, but I hate talking to people like you" (Freddie Mercury)
I'm just wondering how big one of these things would be when compared with something like a pacemaker? Us humans must have a bit of spare room in there somewhere!
Of course, charging it may be a bit of an issue, unless you slept on an electric mat thing and it used induction!
Would be kind of cool to have storage that you couldn't ever leave behind or lose.
This looks GREAT: I work on server-side stuff on several sites, and being able to carry around my own Apache server in my pocket and use it with whichever machine happens to be there would be a lot more sensible than lugging a laptop around. (Internet access from at least one site is slow and expensive).
Virtually serving coffee
Hear that?
That's the sound of the world's virus writers drooling.
Whoever thought this thing was a PDA/laptop replacement is a total idiot. It's not a human I/0 device. This has everything to do with distributed computing, and nothing to do with mobile computers. It is clear to me that this is an attempt to have a "roaming profile" with all of your programs, settings and files in a real-world roaming device. Eventually, it will be possible for us to use almost any computer as if it was our own. Although why it is a physical device, and not a web service, I don't know. I could be a little off on it's true purpose, but I can't imagine anyone with intelligence thinking that a block of storage with wireless is a PDA or laptop replacement. That would be like saying cargo planes will replace cars.
Slashdot: Playing Favorites Since 1997
the whole idea of palmtops and laptops was to take the office out of the office right.......so you can now do all your work on the train on the way into work instead of having to be at a terminal.
:D i love the idea, although the battery life would need to be higher than 4 hours for me to consider it. having said that my laptop only lasts 2 hours when i'm using 802.11b so it wouldn't be an issue when i'm on the move.
I think i'm right in saying that most large offices have data on servers that everyone can access, if everyone had a personal server then they could sync it at work with the intranet maybe, and then have access to their work intranet without the call costs of dialling into their work's server.
The role of the server is the one that has so far not been taken mobile, until now
One feature intel might consider is drip-charging it from USB for time when you only have access to one power point, like on trains here in the UK there is a plug socket next to each seat...but only one and it would be a bit shit if you were working for hours and then your server went down
enough rambling
Doesn't Knoppix already do this? This is just a variation with wireless. You load up version 3.2 with personal home on a 256MB usb fob and off you go. Any PC with a bootable CD and USB port is yours! Setup just how you want it [within hardware limits] Your data is yours, always save from prying eyes too. The only difference I see is that this uses Bluetooth, but I think Linux has that in the near future or already.
I bet they're envisioning it to act like a hub for interconnecting appliances or something. Its usefulness will be enhanced by "digital passports", however they end up being implemented. In brief - not exciting, but useful. Had our focus been on usefulness and profitability, the dotbomb (and dotcom wave) would not have happened.
Stop the brainwash
What's winning the battle, phone booths or cell phones? I've been to many places where phone booths have been removed because "everyone" carries cell phones these days.
This device will suffer the same fate. The whole idea of a PDA is portability. You can look up addresses, phone numbers, play games, etc. anywhere with a PDA. However, with one of these devices, you are limited to wherever they put a kiosk.
"Sorry I forgot the bread, Honey. I had the grocery list on my personal server, but the lineup at the kiosk was too long, so I just got what I could remember".
"Sure, I can beam you my address. There's a kiosk three blocks from here."
This is dead in the water technology, folks.
"I'm not impatient. I just hate waiting." - My Dad
Wow, a wireless hard drive and pocket warmer, all in one!
Cyde Weys Musings - Scrutinizing the inscrutable
I have to say Intel is very late on this one. Apple's
IPOD Rules! I just bought a 15GB unit and I'm working on several Unix Apps for it. Yes there's no
networking capability for it yet, but it has firewire
access and you can upload 4.6GB of mpegs in 12 minutes, at least that's the performance I got from it. You can also use it as a hard drive if you wish.
Actually I've been thinking about this for some years, just don't as much money as Intel/IBM/etc. mp3 and basic file storage is just a very small tip of the iceberg.
:) ) or maybe gun muzzle recognition and gun shot locators (military version).
Think virtual telepathy and telekinesis.
Enter a room, register with one of the area servers. On your wearable browser visit https://here/. Get the "room/area page", a list of people in the area, a list of services (airconditioner, lights, jukebox, vending machines etc).
People could click on los_furtive and https://los_furtive.here/ which is actually the local address of los_furtive's wearable server. They could then upload messages, urls, multimedia to los_furtive, and los_furtive could reply/respond accordingly. Virtual telepathy.
Virtual telekinesis would be controlling stuff from your wearable browser (gesture, or thought recognition - already done with macaques and mice). thought macros and bookmarks could help speed things up.
However bad copyright laws could make it hard to legally record what you "see" as you walk along, or play it back, or send it to someone else.
Later one could add stuff like face recognition (auto name captioning
I have a feeling that this is the way all computing devices will be, not just personal ones. The days of having to connect a monitor to a computer via a (VGA/SVideo/etc.) cable are coming to an end. None of the servers in my data center are attached to monitors at all. VNC is sufficient, but it would be nice to be able to "connect" a monitor to a computer wirelessly, e.g., when the thing won't boot. But will take a long time to get there. The wireless idea makes a lot more sense for PDA applications.
I can't even find an ATM when I need one sometimes. The last thing I need is a big block of nothing in my pocket looking for someone else's hardware to use. BTW, do you know where that keyboard has been? Ewwww!
Rather than engage in a point-by-point response to the textual interpretation of Guspaz the pedophillic diddling rapist baby raping sicko's claims, I want to respond to the more general issue at hand. Before I launch into my main topic, I want to make a few matters crystal clear: 1) Guspaz the pedophillic diddling rapist baby raping sicko's presence makes people nervous, anxious, fearful, and angry, and 2) as a result of that, I can hardly believe how in this day and age, lewd vagabonds are allowed to gag the innocent accused from protesting pauperism-motivated prosecutions. Now that you know where I stand on those issues, I can safely say that many people respond to Guspaz the pedophillic diddling rapist baby raping sicko's primitive antics in the same way that they respond to television dramas. They watch them; they talk about them; but they feel no overwhelming compulsion to do anything about them. That's why I insist we set the record straight. I want to institute change. I want to do this not because I need to tack another line onto my rsum, but because we can all have daydreams about Happy Fuzzy Purple Bunny Land, where everyone is caring, loving, and nice. Not only will those daydreams not come true, but if he gets his way, I might very well jump in the lake. All of these things are related: antipluralism, Guspaz the pedophillic diddling rapist baby raping sicko's drug-induced ravings, and the general breakdown of our society. I'll tell you how they're related. It's really very simple. In essence, Guspaz the pedophillic diddling rapist baby raping sicko's argument is invalid. Let me recap that for you, because it really is extraordinarily important: Even when the facts don't fit, Guspaz the pedophillic diddling rapist baby raping sicko sometimes tries to use them anyway. He still maintains, for instance, that we have no reason to be fearful about the criminally violent trends in our society today and over the past ten to fifteen years.
The following theorem may therefore be established as an eternally valid truth: If he would abandon his name-calling and false dichotomies, it would be much easier for me to shape a world of dignity and harmony, a world of justice, solidarity, liberty, and prosperity. What this underlines, I think, is that I do not find prevarications that are venal, distasteful, and hostile to be "funny". Maybe I lack a sense of humor, but maybe Guspaz the pedophillic diddling rapist baby raping sicko is not
Think someone needs to seriously consider changing the title of this article.
I also don't think it'll replace laptops either since laptops are designed to be portable PCs not requiring a separate screen, keyboard, etc.
Could you use it on a Plane?
Could you use it on a Train?
They already have a tiny PC you just plug into any monitor and keyboard and suddenly it's your PC. It's called the Cappuccino Mini Book PC.
Only twist with this is Intel's device adds wireless connectivity, so it's compatible with about 0.1% of PCs currently in use. Can't wait to buy one!
my karma will be here long after I'm gone
sorry about that (shoulda been "beautiful young woman" anyhow).
/.. however, it was certainly inappropriate. my apologies.
although in a way, it was on topic, if barely, because her picture appeared without explanation in the article which had been linked to
in the picture she reminds me of young adele goldberg. you can practically see the bright, light of serious feminine intellect shining in her eyes as she demos cool new techstuff. beautiful.
& again, sorry!
--l'homme sur la lune ~ TRR